Becker's Hospital Review

39 WOMEN'S LEADERSHIP 39 CEO / STRATEGY Rush exec on how having an equity framework prepared it for COVID-19 and saved lives By Hannah Mitchell T he pandemic has hit low-income com- munities and communities of color harder than others, but having an equi- ty framework prepared Chicago-based Rush University Medical Center for the detrimen- tal effect it would have on homeless popula- tions, workforce shortages and the Chicago community. When David Ansell, MD, joined Rush as its chief medical officer in 2005, the system al- ready had decades of programs focusing on healthcare equity that he could build on and formalize. In 2014, he became Rush's senior vice president for community health equity. In 2016, he worked with Rush's CEO and oth- er healthcare executives to formally create five pillars of health equity to address a 14- year life expectancy gap between Chicago's low-income and affluent communities. Early on in the pandemic, this framework would help the hospital in helping Chicago's most vulnerable communities. "We went into homeless shelters and began to test people for COVID-19," Dr. Ansell told Becker's in May. "Early in the pandemic, we discovered, before the CDC, that it was be- ing asymptomatically spread, and we creat- ed a respite center for homeless people with COVID, which is still running a year-plus aer it opened in April 2020." e respite center has since taken care of more than 700 homeless patients who would otherwise have been spreading COVID-19 on the streets or in homeless shelters, he said. Rush's equity strategy encouraged it to open its doors to COVID-19 patients who were currently receiving care at safety-net hospi- tals, something Dr. Ansell said no hospital was doing at the time. "We took patients who were transferred on ventilators; they were going to die at the other hospitals," he said. "ey did just as well as people on ventilators who came into our front door of our hospital." For Dr. Ansell, this is a direct correlation to how an equity strategy saves lives in the com- munity. e pandemic also highlighted the need for healthcare workers to help patients as many hospitals faced massive staffing shortages. Dr. Ansell said they noted that many employees in his hospital did not have opportunities to move up the ladder, from a job to a career. Rush launched a series of internships, ap- prenticeships and career pathway programs to put low-wage workers into well-paying en- try-level jobs that were in short supply. Rush launched programs for patient care techni- cians, medical assistants and healthcare IT because they only require a certificate. In one example, a Rush employee who used to work in guest relations at the front desk of the hospital was transitioning into a medical assistant position. For Dr. Ansell, stories like these make his position really rewarding. Dr. Ansell believes that what Rush is doing for equity can be repeated by other hospitals. However, he emphasized that building an eq- uity framework is not done overnight. It took decades for Rush to build the foundations and programs it has in place today. "We think that these are the right steps to take and if we all take these together, we will have an impact ultimately on health and life expec- tancy," he said. n AdventHealth will be Disney World's official healthcare provider By Kelly Gooch A dventHealth has formed a renewed alliance with Walt Disney World, under which it will become the official healthcare and virtual healthcare provider for the resort, the Altamonte Springs, Fla.-based health system said May 6. AdventHealth said its relationship with Walt Disney World spans more than 20 years, and the renewed alliance allows it to provide a wide range of healthcare services and vacation planning tools to resort guests before and during their visit. "AdventHealth and Walt Disney World Resort have enjoyed a longstanding relationship and we are excited to launch this pioneering initiative, which will allow resort guests to plan and customize their vacation around their unique health needs," Terry Shaw, president and CEO of Advent- Health, said in a news release. "Guests can experience the Walt Disney World Resort with the confidence of knowing they are supported by AdventHealth's world-class clin- ical team who is dedicated to providing whole-person, compassionate care to every patient we serve." The "AdventHealth World of Wellness" initiative includes as- sistance with planning medical appointments, urgent care services, and medical equipment or prescription delivery to resort hotels. The health system said resort guests may also access AdventHealth's telemedicine service, and the health system and resort will consider "building on the current Dis- ney touches" at AdventHealth for Children in Orlando. Additionally, AdventHealth said it will build an emergency room at Flamingo Crossings Town Center near the resort. A clinical team including emergency physicians and emer- gency nurses will staff the ER. Walt Disney World is based in Lake Buena Vista, Fla. Advent- Health has 50 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites nationwide, and more than 20 hospitals and emergency rooms in and surrounding the Orlando metropolitan area. n "We created a respite center for homeless people with COVID, which is still running a year-plus after it opened." - Dr. David Ansell, Rush University Medical Center

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